CARMEL MOUNTAIN RANCH -- Palomar Pomerado Health announced Thursday that it has issued its own credit card to a handful of patients, in a trial program designed to help people who can not pay their medical bills upfront.

Cynthia Burns, manager of patient business services for the public health care district, said five patients have been approved to receive the credit card, dubbed "CarePayment," as part of the pilot effort.

Issued in partnership with Oregon-based investment company Aequitas Capital Management, the card can be used to cover co-payments and other health care costs incurred at Palomar Pomerado facilities and not covered by HMOs, insurance plans, Medicare or MediCal.

The credit card gives patients the option of paying off their medical treatment bills over a period of up to two years. Minimum monthly payments are 4 percent of a patient's total balance or $25, whichever is higher.

Patients can add medical charges to the credit card as those charges are incurred, as long as they remain current on their payments.

The credit card has a fixed interest rate of 0 percent.

Health system spokesman Andy Hoang said the credit card could be offered to other eligible patients if the program is successful and a hit with those now using the card.

"We're giving this a test run to see how well it will work for the health system and the community," Hoang said.

Palomar Pomerado serves residents in an 800-square-mile area that runs from the Riverside County line south to Poway and from San Marcos east to Borrego Springs. The district's flagship facility, Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, is North County's only trauma center.

The health care system also owns and operates Pomerado Hospital in Poway, the adjacent Villa Pomerado skilled nursing center, and Palomar Continuing Care Center, a skilled nursing facility in Escondido.

Palomar Pomerado already offers its patients several payment options, including 20 percent to 35 percent cash discounts for people who pay their bills when they are discharged or within 30 days after that.

The hospital system offers a three- to six-month payment plan as well. The district also has several charity programs that provide medical treatment to low-income people who lack health insurance and are ineligible for Medicare or MediCal.

Hoang and Burns said they did not know how common it was for a hospital district to issue its own credit cards, though Burns said she has heard people express interest in exploring the possibility, during health care symposiums she has attended.

Noting that a hospital bill typically is unexpected, she said a college student who works part-time and is suddenly faced with a $1,000 medical bill is an example of someone who might find Palomar Pomerado's credit card helpful.

"When I'm looking at the accounts, I use as a point of reference patients that have a high sense of obligation to pay but a very high debt-to-income ratio," Burns said. "You don't want to add to their stress; you don't want to add to their issues. … This credit card (lets them) say, 'Look, I have a card in my hand that says I can pay for this this way.' "

For information about the CarePayment credit card, call (858) 675-5218.

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.